2020 GR Toyota Supra GTS
vs.
2017 Toyota 86 GTS (modified)
First off I’d like to say a big thank you to Chris from Brian Hilton Toyota in West Gosford for the opportunity to drive the years most hotly anticipated sports car, returning for it’s fifth iteration; the Toyota Supra!
As most of you will know, when it comes to comparative car reviews its normally a completely stock standard car versus another stock standard car, in this case however i’ve decided to use my own modified Toyota 86 as the comparison, since the 86 being stock standard has been done before and this will make for a more interesting comparison, with the question being if its worth buying a Toyota 86 for less than half the money and modifying it or whether its more beneficial just buying the Supra instead (if you have that kind of money to spend).
Starting off with something that I find extremely important when it comes to a sports car, the overall visual styling, both inside and out.
Appearance:
The 2020 GR Supra from the exterior does show a bit of its heritage in its overall design. The roof pillars, the roof itself and the rear fenders show off the same styling cues as the 1967 Toyota 2000GT and the rear end appears to look like a modern interpretation of the previous A80 Toyota Supra, just sharpened up a little to appear more aggressive.
The bonnet on the Supra in my opinion is far too large, being one massive piece that includes both front fenders and does tend to look a little strange when open.
The fake vents too can be found around the Supra, which wouldn’t phase me too much if they just didn’t look so cheap, but since it would look weird without them It is just a minor blemish in an otherwise gorgeous looking sports car. I will say though, for the price point it would’ve been nice for the vents to be open, at least on the GTS variant.
The roof and roof pillars as well, even though they relate stylistically back to the 2000GT I think it looks a little off proportionate wise, but I’m sure I could manage to look past these minor exterior flaws (in my opinion), because apart from that I think the A90 Supra is a stunning looking sports car and is certainly my preference of Supra generation to date with one of the best rear ends on any car of the past decade if you were to ask me. The Supra has always had a presence to it, and that is no different with this new model.
The Toyota 86 also shares design cues with Toyota’s of the past, particularly the 2000GT as well. The bonnet, front fenders, rear fenders and side windows to name a few (as you can see above).
I’ve even been told my 86 due to the Modellista lip kit, TRD ducktail spoiler, larger wheels and a lowered stance gives off a Porsche vibe, which is a compliment I’ll happily take any day of the week. This goes to show how a few thousand dollars being thrown at the 86 can make it look well above its price bracket.
In the case of the Supra it already looks very well sorted and comes with a presence on the road from the factory which is certainly a plus when spending that much money and it also has the outright performance to back it up entirely.
Its also interesting to note that my rear end colour scheme (white with red lights) has been the same choice for Toyota with the Supra’s rear end, very good combination in my opinion, mimicking the colours of the Japanese flag also.
Overall I think its important to show how the new Supra and 86 do also share a lot of similarities with each other, looking at the two side-by-side its easy to see that they are related, they are both a very similar size, with the 86 in my opinion being the bulkier looking car of the two and the Supra looking a little more chiseled and defined, especially at the rear. Being the two modern flagship sports cars from Toyota I think its important they share styling cues despite their partnerships with two different companies, those being Subaru for the 86 and BMW for the Supra.
The overall styling however is just about where the similarities begin and end for the two cars.
The interior of both the 86 and Supra couldn’t be anymore different in styling yet feel somewhat similar to be sat inside of. The 86’s interior is unmistakably Toyota in my opinion, it even follows a very similar interior layout to that of the aforementioned 2000GT.
The 86 still holds the record as well for having the smallest diameter steering feel ever fitted to a production Toyota and in my opinion does look much nicer than the one you find in the Supra. However the Supra’s steering wheel is better to hold I found, having larger 10 and 2 bolsters to hold on to, having the better quality leather fitting nicer to the hand compared to my upgraded OEM alcantara steering wheel which has smaller and less noticeable bolsters.
Looking over the steering wheel in the Supra you are greeted to the site of the bonnets bulge due to that big inline-six powerplant, in the 86 you are instead seeing the front fender arches on each side which helps you to place the car around corners, and is the better view.
The shifter area of the 86 is definitely where the interior shows its partly a Subaru, if you’ve ever been in other Subaru’s you’ll know what I mean.
Now coming over to the Supra, there is really no way you’d be able to tell its a Toyota from the inside apart from the logo on the centre of the steering wheel, it is otherwise very BMW, which isn’t a bad thing. The quality of the interior is fantastic and the 86 just doesn’t compare here, the Supra with its real carbon fibre trimmed pieces out doing the 86’s fake ones:
The I-Drive layout in the Supra with a lot of features verses the 86’s very basic headunit (still does the job though):
the almost entirely digital speedometer (uniquely designed for the Supra) with heads up display compared to the 86’s mainly analogue display with digital features for mine since its the facelift and GTS model:
And the electronically controlled sports seats wrapped in leather with an alcantara centre, a lot like the 86’s seats, just more premium, which is to be expected for the massive price difference between the two.
So as you’d have presumed the Supra’s interior is a much more luxurious, tech savvy and all-in-all comfortable place to be, whilst the 86 is the more roomer and feature lacking interior, which in many ways can be a benefit, its got all you need with less things able to go wrong. The Supra has pretty much all the modern gadgets, such as; lane assistance monitoring, heads up display (GTS only) and rain sensing wipers, but are these novelties really needed in a dedicated sports car? I believe its part of the 86’s charm to not have them. The 86 is obviously expected to be the winner with storage space, having its; two extra seats, larger boot and more spacious cabin. For a two-seater sports car though the Supra is still very well equipped for the daily duties and debatably has the most storage space versus its similarly priced two-door rivals.
How does the Supra under the hood compare to the 86? speaking strictly in terms of the visual. The 86’s engine bay shows off the engine with the red manifold, intake, header, TRD carbon fibre strut brace, sound tube… etc
The Supra unfortunately hides its engine underneath a plastic cover like most modern cars do, making it so that nobody can really see anything to get excited about. whereas back with the A80 Supra you were able to see a long straight-six engine block with two turbo chargers, which was certainly something you’d wanna show off.
The 86 doesn’t have much to show off under the hood, but its nice that it isn’t covered up and you can see the whole engine block and any modifications you add to it, further adding to it being a 90s car built in the present.
Understandably Toyota also doesn’t want to show off a bunch or wires connected to the block underneath for all the Supra’s modern technology that the 86 does not share. As far as a covered engine goes though, the Supra is far from the worst.
Now if we change the topic from visual to performance, the answer to whether the Supra compares is a completely different story.
I could talk all day long about the appearances of both cars, but at the end of the day its a very subjective matter, we all have our own opinions, these are just mine based of my personal experiences.
Performance
Now on to performance, and more specifically value of performance, this is what I’m sure most of you came to check out. For the sake of the debate I am putting the value of my car to $55K AUD (40K AUD brand new) because of the mods I’ve added and the Supra as it was is $106K AUD, this begs the aforementioned question from the beginning of this article, as to whether it is worth spending the extra money on the Supra or is it better value for money to buy an 86 instead and modify it.
Firstly lets address the elephant in the room, and that is of course the power. The A90 Supra obviously decimates the 86 when it comes to this, with its B58 straight-six turbo charged engine producing a quoted 335bhp and 500Nm of torque enabling the car to reach 100kph from zero in just under 4 seconds (based on the quickest time recorded of 3.8 seconds, Toyota though only quotes 4.3 seconds). We all know the power figures are extremely understated based on dyno runs that have been made since the cars release, the actual numbers are closer to 339whp and 579Nm at the wheels. This all being compared to my 86’s 241bhp and 246Nm of torque from its naturally aspirated flat-4 boxer engine with a full 2.5” exhaust system including unequal length headers, drop-in air filter and ECUtek dyno tune, I’d say we are looking at 6-6.5 seconds for a 0-100 run. Not only does the 86 have considerably less power but it also doesn’t come on until about 4000rpm whereas the Supra reaches peak torque numbers as early as 1600rpm making it the much more daily and highway friendly sports car of the two, while driving it you can really relax and know you have the power to overtake effortlessly at all times, whereas in the 86 you’ve always gotta be ready for such situations cause it can’t do it so easily with the very little amount of torque on tap, downshifts are very much required whereas in the supra foot down in any gear and off you go. When it comes to the sound, just like the power, there is just no contest. Even with my 86 having an exhaust system the straight-six sound just can’t be touched and the pops and crackles are just addictive, the sound they make would plaster a smile on anyones face, I also like how the pops and crackles are different every-time, dependant on the revs and which gear you are dropping in too. Its nice how its not just the same making the same sound over and over which i find with a lot of the cars that have a crackle exhaust mode.
When it comes to the handling on both cars, I’d say my 86 has the edge on this one. My 86 currently has Bilstein B14 coilovers, Verus Engineering LCA’s and camber adjustable top hats, TRD strut brace (front), Titan 7 T-S5 wheels (18x9.5+40) paired with 245/40 Yokohama AD08R tyres, which makes for a well setup 86 when it comes to the grip and handling ability, especially since it is already fantastic out of the box. The Supra comes with a very compliant suspension setup and stiffens up while in ‘sport mode’ which is great, the Supra GTS also wears some very appealing 19 inch wheels with 245 tyres up front and 275 in the rear which really do help to put the abundance of power down to the ground.
Having driven both cars back to back id say the 86 just feels tighter, which isn’t a surprised based on the setup I have, on top of that the steering feels a tiny bit more responsive in the 86 and I believe thats due to the 86’s lack of weight in comparison to the Supra, we are looking at 1,280kgs for the 86 versus around 1,530kgs for the Supra. Overall though the handling of the new Supra was fantastic, as is to be expected for having the same engineer as the 86, which is known for its handling prowess all over the globe.
Driving the Supra really feels like a more composed and civilised version of the 86, much more tolerable in traffic being an automatic, which might I add is fantastic to use, the paddle shifters are instant and not once did I find the need for it to be a manual transmission. Whereas having a lower power output like the 86 I find the manual enhances the experience, getting you as the driver more involved. The overall quality is much better in the Supra, meaning that there is very little road noise and no creaks or rattles from the interior, which is something I cannot say the same for the 86, especially once an aftermarket exhaust is added and some performance tyres, you’ll hear plenty of road noise and the occasional rattle, this being an issue when cheaper materials are used. Having owned the 86 for 3 years I can say that you do get tired of all the noise eventually, especially if its your daily driver, so the Supra hands down would win as far as liveability and just a more relaxed driving experience, there is no game of guessing where the new noise is coming from.
A few annoyances I found with driving the Supra were inherent things in modern day cars, especially European ones. Starting with a pet peeve of mine is the indicator being on the left hand side of the steering wheel, this only bugs me since its wearing the iconic Supra name which signifies the pinnacle of Toyota and therefore I believe should have the indicator in the traditional Japanese location on the right hand side of the steering wheel, but obviously due to the BMW roots and interior layout the indicator is inherently on the left hand side. In my opinion it’s just a small feature I think Toyota should’ve changed for the Supra.
The auto-off feature would have to be next on the list of cons. I know its on almost even automatic car these days, but I just find it unnecessary. Every time the car is turned on, so is the auto-off feature, you press the button and it turns off but it’d be better if it was the other way around in my opinion, press the button to turn it on.
The button handbrake I’ve never been a fan of, but its something we all need to adapt too. Strangely when the car is put into Drive or Reverse the handbrake doesn’t automatically disengage like in most other cars, and its the same when putting it back in to park, it doesn’t automatically engage again, you have to press the button. More a strange feature than an annoyance.
I did also experience a bit of tram lining when coming off full throttle after an acceleration pull, not sure what caused it exactly, but just thought its an interesting thing to mention.
I’ve heard many people complaining about the wind noise when above 100kph if the windows are down, from my experience I didn’t find it nearly as bad as i was expecting, I reached about 130kph and the noise was tolerable to me. However, I do come from a modified 86, so i am used to noises here and there, so this is something that comes down to what each individual finds annoying I’d say.
The annoyances I’ve mentioned are obviously from scraping at the bottom of the barrel cause none of those minor things really matter in my opinion, at the end of the day its an amazing sports car and for me to have to choose such minor things to pick on should prove just that.
Verdict:
Overall Toyota as a brand certainly has a spot for both these phenomenal sports cars in their lineup. As you’ve probably noticed both have their strengths and weaknesses and it really comes down to what you’re looking for from a sports car in the end.
I can say that the 86 would have to be the choice for an entirely dedicated drivers car; It has the manual gearbox as an option, more playful and easier to throw around corners, more rev happy engine and isn’t powerful enough (in naturally aspirated form) to get you in to too much trouble on the public roads or on the twisties. In contrast, the Supra is the car you’d take on roads with signage of 90kph or above, from personal experience in the 86 with roads such as these its really a situation you notice the lack of torque in, therefore making this a perfect chance to drive the Supra in these cases instead. The Supra i’d say is a much more everyday usable sports car or the car you’d wanna take on longer journeys. Its a compliant and comfortable place to be in with quality materials, up-to-date technology and packs one hell of a punch making it a great car for almost any driving situation where a sports car could be considered. Highway driving is also made easy with the massive amount of torque to get you out of any situation you may come across. The Supra would still do a tremendous job on the twisty public roads, but you’d most likely be breaking the law by a large margin to have the same kind of fun you’d be having in the 86 at a much lower speed.
Therefore, if you’re after the best “value for money” Id say without a doubt it is the 86 at just about half the price with my tastefully added modifications, whereas the main noticeable difference is the exhaust sound being much more pleasant and entertaining, the power delivery and the overall quality, which in all I personally don’t think is worth the extra $50K AUD in price for me. Having said that, If I had the money for a Supra and didn't already have the 86 would I buy one? Absolutely.
If you’re an individual who wants something brilliant straight out of the box though, the Supra is just that, for a completely stock car it is a joy to drive, id compare it straight up with a Jaguar F-Type V6S, having driven both, the feeling is noticeably similar, which id say is a massive praise to Toyota and BMW. The sound of the exhaust, the engine (despite the online hatred), the feel and the appearance all go together to make this one fantastic sports car.
Supra vs. Competitors:
On the topic of the F-Type V6S, it brings up what else is on offer in the second hand market for a similar or lower price, cars such as the 981 Porsche Cayman S, BMW M2 or Lotus Exige S all of which are extremely dedicated sports cars with manual options. However for the sake of this article second hand cars aren’t truly a fair price comparison, since we are talking brand new vs used.
Looking at brand new cars on the market it shows just how good value the Supra actually is in its market segment. The Porsche 718 Cayman (Base model) is advertised as $137,596, while the S is $170,146 and the S is the direct competitor. Jaguar F-Type (four-cylinder turbo) $176,908 and the six-cylinder supercharged being; $196,965 for the one with the same quoted power as the Supra (250Kw), the Alpine A110 which is priced at $119,657 for the ‘Premiere Edition’ and finally the Supra’s own sister car the BMW Z4 which is priced as starting at $34,000 more!
As you can see the competition is priced much higher, and is it worth spending that extra money for a badge? and that’ll only get you a four cylinder until you reach around the $200,000 mark, thus showing how yes the Supra is expensive for a Toyota, but it is also extremely good value compared to its competition, boasting very similar performance with a more desirable six-cylinder engine and debatably one of the most famous names in the automotive industry.
Its worth me also quickly mentioning how its former rivals of the 90s are also well above the price range of the Supra, double the money for the GT-R and four times the price for the NSX, yes you get more, but not a hundreds of thousands of dollars worths more.
The 2020 A90 GR Toyota Supra GTS is a premium sports car for the enthusiast at a very competitive price point. If you are ever lucky enough to drive one like I was, you will not be disappointed. I can honestly say that it is a sports car that I will look at as a future addition to the garage.
If you'd like to know the full list of current modifications on my Toyota 86, click here.